Restaurant: Niji Sushi
City: Mountain View, CA

Went to a sushi place in Downtown Mountain View with several coworkers, to celebrate a birthday! I ordered the dynamite roll.

Deep fried salmon, tuna, and hamachi with spicy special sauce. Garnished with sprouts.

Did you know sushi rolls often found in sushi places in America are not typically found in sushi places in Japan?

The increasing popularity of sushi around the world has resulted in variations typically found in the Western world, but rarely in Japan (a notable exception to this is the use of salmon which was introduced by the Norwegians in the early 1980s). Such creations to suit the Western palate were initially fueled by the invention of the California roll (anorimaki with crab (later, imitation crab), cucumber, and avocado). A wide variety of popular rolls (norimaki and uramaki) has evolved since. Though the menu names of dishes often vary by restaurant, some examples include Alaska roll, British Columbia roll, California roll, dynamite roll, Hawaiian roll, rainbow roll, Seattle roll, mango roll, spider roll, and Michigan roll. (Wikipedia)

Most students–especially those who have been to or are from Japan–note that the sushi you find in California restaurants can be different from the sushi in the East. In fact, “Western sushi” is a style of sushi that is very popular in the U.S. After the California Roll was invented in Los Angeles, the sushi industry exploded with new, inventive rolls. The dynamite roll is one of the common sushi menu items in California. (Converse International School of Languages)

The fusion roll recipes consist of multiple ingredients and require to roll the sushi with the rice facing outside (uramaki). In fusion sushi terminology, a dynamite refers to a dish that is covered with spicy sauce and quickly grilled. The inner part of the roll is frequently a spicy tuna roll (rolled outside) but it depends on the chef, and it can be substituted with any other roll. After cutting the roll into their individual pieces, it is covered with spicy mayonnaise. A chef’s gas torch is often used to burn the mayonnaise quckly. (Sushi Encyclopedia)